Transfer steps

1

Make sure that your contact info at your old registrar is up-to-date. If you’ve changed email addresses since you first registered your domain, now’s the time to update your domain contact info at your old registrar. Specifically, the email address associated with your administrative contact must be correct in order for your domain transfer to go through.

⚠️️ Warning

If your listed email address is inaccessible, update it. However, if you change your Organization name (or your First or Last name if there is no organization listed), some registrars prohibit transfers out for an additional 60 days.

2

Unlock your domain at your old registrar.

3

Turn off WHOIS Privacy service for your domain at your old registrar. This service is sometimes called "private registration" or "protected registration."

4

Grab an authorization code (aka EPP key) from your old registrar. This key is a one-use password that allows you to transfer your domain to another registrar, in this case Porkbun.

Type in your domain to be transferred under
Domain Name, then copy the authorization code from your old registrar and paste it into the
Auth Code field. Hit Submit.

The transfer or transfers will be added to your cart. From Your Cart, click "Continue to Billing" to pay for your transfers. Once you’ve paid, Porkbun (and possibly your old registrar) will send you an email asking you to confirm the transfer. Find the Porkbun email and click the provided link to confirm the transfer.

Now we play the waiting game…

Now that you’ve initiated the transfer, it can take up to five business days for it to complete. Some registrars will expedite transfers out if you contact their support department once the transfer is in process… but not all.

You can check on the status of pending transfers by logging into your Porkbun account and clicking "Transfer" at the top left corner of the page.

Potential showstoppers

There's a few scenarios where you simply can't transfer a domain to Porkbun… or anywhere else.

Was your domain first registered fewer than 60 days ago? If so, you’ll need to wait until the 60 day mark before transferring it to Porkbun. We feel your pain, but our hands are tied.

Was your domain transferred fewer than 60 days ago? Same deal as above. ICANN rules say a domain must stay at one registrar for 60 days before it can be transferred to another.

Does your domain already have more than nine years of registration? Since domains can only ever have ten years registration max, sometimes the registry won't allow transfers that already have nine years of registration.